Approve bond for the students

Parents and other grownups need to think together about our children’s futures. The April bond election in Everett and Mill Creek will determine if 60 percent of voters favor upgrades and classroom additions to its schools. That high bar was almost met by the 58 percent who said yes in February. Given the traditionally high level of support for schools by citizens, I hope a higher voter turnout will spell the difference. Please vote.

The measure of any community is what it thinks of its environment, its economy, its arts and its schools. We are doing well on all counts thus far. Our growth management planning lays out a good vision for the future and what we must do to achieve it. Maintaining our schools is an essential part of that vision.

This we know. By 2020 we will have 20,000 more people living in our school district than today. By 2035 we will have 40,000 more than that. If our children are to be our future, then we 2014 adults have an obligation to secure that future for them.

There is a group that seems to be working to defeat the April vote because of anger over past decisions by our elected school board. While I happen to believe the board’s decision was a good one, I do not understand why this group has chosen to act on their anger by working against improvements that I assume even they feel are necessary.

I would hope that their anger will be redirected and that they will advocate for our children by supporting the April bond vote. For others I encourage all to vote in favor of the improvements necessary to meet the challenges of growth.